Cadence and Milestones
The operational rhythm. Weekly · monthly · quarterly. Decision rules that prevent drift. 90/180/365 day goals. What “winning” means.
1. Cadence Overview
📅 CADENCE · THE RHYTHM
Nova AI operates on four cadence layers + annual planning + June 2026 milestone:
Weekly
Wed + Fri sync · 2h total
Monthly
First Monday strategic review · 2h
QBR
Per-SPV in-person deep dive
Annual
November planning offsite
| Cadence | Frequency | Duration | Participants | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Check-in | Mid-week | 1 hour | All 4 founders | Mid-week status · unblock · adjust course |
| Friday Wrap-up | End of week | 1 hour | All 4 founders | Week wrap · scoreboard · next-week priorities |
| Monthly Strategic Review | First Monday | 2 hours | All 4 founders | Kill/cap/advance · allocation · pipeline |
| Quarterly Business Review | End of quarter | 2-3 hours per SPV · IN-PERSON rotating | Founders + SPV operator | Per-SPV deep dive · operator accountability |
| Annual Planning | November | 1-2 full days | All 4 founders | Next year roadmap · targets · commitments |
Weekly time commitment: 2 hours (Wed 1h + Fri 1h). Monthly +2h · Quarterly +per-SPV 2-3h · Annual +1-2 days. Total: ~12-15 hours/month in cadence meetings.
2. Wednesday Check-in · 1 hour mid-week
📆 WEEKLY · WED + FRI
Format: Live (in-person or video call)
Agenda
- 15 min — Per-founder update (what shipped · what’s blocking · what needs input)
- 20 min — Cross-cutting issues (product decisions · operator conversations · strategic signals)
- 15 min — Unblocking — specific decisions + owners (no “let’s discuss more”)
- 10 min — Next 2-day priorities (until Friday)
Why Wednesday: Mid-week course-correction · catches issues before they cascade.
Ownership: Bart chairs · Klara prepares brief from Management Nova AI portal.
3. Friday Wrap-up · 1 hour end-of-week
📅 WEEKLY · FRIDAY WRAP
Format: Live
Agenda
- 10 min — Week’s scoreboard consolidated (MRR delta · product gates advanced · blockers)
- 15 min — Per-product status review (sponsor reports)
- 10 min — Operator search updates (shared founder responsibility)
- 10 min — Financial snapshot (Brian reports)
- 15 min — Next-week priorities + commitments
Output: Each blocker gets decision or owner. Documented in Management Nova AI portal.
Ownership: Bart chairs · Klara consolidates · Brian presents financials.
4. Monthly Strategic Review · 2 hours · First Monday
📊 MONTHLY · STRATEGIC REVIEW
Format: Live (in-person or video call) · mandatory all 4 founders
Pre-review prep (Friday before · Klara)
- Full scoreboard consolidation (all 4 weekly scoreboards)
- Kill/cap candidates identified
- Pipeline gate advancement requests
- Allocation decisions queued
During the meeting · Hour 1 — Portfolio Review
- Per-product: is it advancing? killing? capping? productizing?
- Review 4 outcomes per product (§05 section 5)
- Lock gate transitions
- Operator search: shared sourcing update
During the meeting · Hour 2 — Strategic Decisions
- Financial review (Brian report)
- Allocation decisions (OpEx · Reinvestment · if active · Salary)
- Pipeline — who’s sponsor for new G0 captures?
- Venture R&D — active · queued · filter decisions
- External signals — partnerships · investor conversations · hire decisions
Output: Each product has updated status · allocation decisions logged · next-month priorities locked.
5. Quarterly Business Review · Per SPV · In-Person
🎯 QBR · IN PERSON · PER SPV
Format: Per-SPV deep dive · 2-3 hours each · preferably in-person · rotating cities
Geographic reality
Mikołaj — Warsaw · Vincent — Kraków · Bart — Kraków · Maciek — Gdańsk
Physical meeting strategy
- Q1 QBR (end of Q1 2027): Kraków (Bart + Vincent local · Mikołaj + Maciek travel)
- Q2 QBR (end of Q2 2027): Warsaw (Mikołaj hosts)
- Q3 QBR (end of Q3 2027): Gdańsk (Maciek hosts)
- Q4 QBR + Annual Planning (November 2027): Rotating host
Rationale
QBR = strategic + relational · physical presence matters for:
- Harder decisions (pivot · kill · major allocation)
- Relationship maintenance between founders
- Operator accountability (seeing each other in person builds trust)
- Informal conversations that don’t happen on Zoom
Virtual acceptable when: Travel impossible · scheduling conflicts · early-stage SPVs.
Agenda template
- 30 min — Operator report (user growth · revenue · product roadmap · team)
- 30 min — Financial deep-dive (P&L · unit economics · Nova AI revenue share · token margin)
- 45 min — Strategic reassessment (pivot needs · market signals · competitive threats)
- 30 min — Equity + governance (sweat-equity vesting · SPV formalization readiness · phantom share milestones)
- 15 min — Next 90 days (specific commitments · decision dates)
6. Annual Planning · November (not December)
🎊 ANNUAL · NOVEMBER OFFSITE
Timing rationale
- December = holidays + tax year-end + personal obligations
- November = full month dedicated · no rush · clear mind
- Decisions locked in November → executing from January (not reacting to December deadlines)
Format: 1-2 full days · in-person ideally · rotating cities (likely Kraków as default)
First Annual Planning: November 2026 — reviewing year post-May · setting 2027 roadmap.
7. June 2026 Commitment Declaration · Critical Milestone
🏁 MILESTONES · KEY DATES
📋 Commitment Milestone
June 2026 · Formal Declarations
All 4 founders declare engagement level
Scope: commitments in writing · external obligations disclosed · fallback clause available (2× capital payout for clean exit).
📅 KEY DATES
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 2026 | Iris AI launch (first Product Builder proof) |
| June 2026 | Commitment Declaration · 1–2 full days in-person |
| Mid-July 2026 | Project 2 launch (via selection mechanism) |
| End-August 2026 | Project 3 launch |
| Mid-October 2026 | Project 4 launch |
| November 2026 | Annual Planning offsite (1–2 full days) |
| End-November 2026 | Project 5 launch |
| December 2026 | 150k PLN MRR target · salary activation gate |
This IS the most important meeting in Nova AI’s first year. It’s not a regular cadence event — it’s a strategic gate.
When: June 2026 (specific date TBD · probably end of June)
Format: In-person · 1-2 full days · all 4 founders
Format: In-person · 1-2 full days · all 4 founders
Purpose
- Wrap-up of first ~7 months (November 2025 start → June 2026)
- Commitment declaration — each founder declares: continue or not continue
- Fallback clause activation — anyone choosing NOT to continue: clean exit with 2× capital contribution payout (per §08 + §13)
- Operational decisions for post-June roadmap — role adjustments · timeline refinements · priorities
Pre-meeting prep (June 2026)
- Each founder writes personal reflection document (lessons · current commitment level · willingness to continue)
- Financial status review (Brian + Mikołaj prepare)
- Portfolio status review (all products · MRR trajectory · pipeline)
- Mikołaj prepares exit paperwork (ready to execute if needed · clean structure)
Outcomes
Scenario A — all 4 continue: Lock commitments for next 12 months · proceed to full execution.
Scenario B — 1 or more exit: Execute fallback clause · 2× capital payout · restructure ownership · proceed with remaining founders.
Scenario C — all 4 exit (unlikely): Wind down Nova AI · distribute assets · close out.
Output documented: Commitments from each founder · ownership adjustments (if any) · revised roadmap based on team composition.
8. Five Decision Rules
⚖ DECISION RULES · FIVE ANCHORS
From Master Blueprint · enforcement mechanism against drift:
| # | Rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Do not debate strategy endlessly during weekly sync; convert debate into specific decision or owner | Weekly ≠ strategy workshop · if decision blocked, escalate to Monthly |
| 02 | Every product must have a sponsor, gate, next evidence requirement, and kill/cap date | §05 9-field tracking enforced at cadence meetings |
| 03 | Every strategic engagement must pass Leverage Test before proposal | §03 Leverage Test enforced upstream · no “discuss and see” engagements |
| 04 | Every operator search must have a longlist owner and next outreach action | Prevents §09 failure mode (operator search going stale) |
| 05 | Every founder commitment must be visible to all 4 founders | Prevents §08 anti-resentment violation — no hidden obligations |
Enforcement: Breaches logged · discussed at next Monthly Strategic. Repeat breaches trigger Alignment Review (§13).
9. End-of-2026 Goals
🎯 GOALS · END OF 2026
Specific · measurable · achievable · time-bound. What “success” looks like by December 31, 2026.
9.1 · Revenue Goals
Reality check: SnapSell has no paying revenue yet (April 2026). All numbers below start from zero and build month-over-month. Dec 2026 MRR is a single month, not an average. Must-hit reflects plausible ramp; stretch reflects hitting the 150k salary-activation gate in December.
| Target | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| MRR December 2026 | 80-100k PLN | 150k PLN (salary-activation gate) |
| L04 AI Mgmt Suite (license + maintenance) | 10-25k PLN (1-2 paying deployments) | 30-60k PLN (3-5 deployments) |
| App revenue share (L02) | 15-30k PLN (2-3 apps generating) | 30-50k PLN (3-5 apps generating) |
| L03 SMB subs (normalized monthly) | 3-6k PLN (2-3 clients) | 8-14k PLN (5-7 clients) |
| Token metering margin | 5-15k PLN | 15-30k PLN |
| L05 Venture R&D retainer (selective) | 10-20k PLN (1 active) | 15-25k PLN |
| Total cumulative revenue 2026 (May-Dec) | 150-300k PLN | 400-700k PLN |
Biggest line = L04 AI Mgmt Suite (per §11). Productized 1-2 week delivery + license · Codibly as case study (no revenue) · RadFres as first paying L03+L04 customer · 2-4 additional paying L04 deployments through Vincent/Mikołaj network.
9.2 · Product Selection Mechanism
Why a mechanism (not ad-hoc): 1 launch every 1.5 months = scarce resource · 12+ portfolio candidates simultaneously · framework = discipline + transparency + shared wisdom.
The 6 Selection Criteria (1-3 scale · 18 points max)
| # | Criterion | Question |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Operator readiness | Czy mamy path do operatora? |
| 02 | Market pull signal | Validated demand? |
| 03 | Stack reuse fit | % Nova AI Stack reuse |
| 04 | Strategic value | Proves thesis · unlocks future line |
| 05 | Founder conviction | Do all 4 actually want this shipped? |
| 06 | Revenue potential | Meaningful MRR by end of target period? |
Scoring Template (populated at cadence meeting)
| Candidate Product | Op readiness | Market pull | Stack reuse | Strategic value | Founder conviction | Revenue potential | Total /18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Product A] | |||||||
| [Product B] | |||||||
| […] |
Decision Rhythm
- Monthly Strategic Review — update scores · new G0 captures added
- Quarterly Business Review — lock next quarter’s launch picks (2 products per quarter at 1.5-month cadence)
- Annual Planning (November) — full re-score · set year-ahead priorities
Tiebreakers (if scores equal)
- Operator readiness advantage (L02b with expert = faster to G5)
- Stack reuse advantage (faster to G4)
- Strategic value diversity (mix B2C · B2B · SMB · L02b · L04)
- Founder sponsor availability (overburdened sponsor = deprioritize)
Override conditions
- Market-sensitive window (competitor threat · acquisition opportunity · regulatory deadline)
- Operator candidate hot (deeply engaged, ready to sign)
- Strategic partnership dependency (e.g., Google-pressured launch)
9.3 · Launch Cadence 1.5-month
| Month | Launch target | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | Iris AI (stretch 1-month · first Product Builder proof) | 1 |
| Mid-July 2026 | Project 2 (via selection mechanism) | 2 |
| End-August 2026 | Project 3 | 3 |
| Mid-October 2026 | Project 4 | 4 |
| End-November 2026 | Project 5 | 5 |
Total post-April 2026: 5 new products launched · + SnapSell = 6 live products by end of 2026.
9.4 · Portfolio + Operator Goals
| Goal | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| New products launched (via selection mechanism) | 2-3 | 4-5 |
| First Product Builder proof (product TBD) | Launched end of June 2026 | Launched end of May 2026 |
| Operators signed (G5+) | 1 | 2 |
| Operators engaged (G1-G4 conversations) | 2-3 active | 4-5 active |
| Operator-Search Template compliance | 100% per active build | — |
9.5 · SMB Pipeline Goals (Line 03)
Hard ceiling: more than ~7 SMB clients drifts into consultancy (delivery time eats platform time). If demand exceeds capacity, raise price or productize further — don’t scale headcount for delivery.
| Goal | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| SMB template live (1-2 week delivery) | By September 2026 | By August 2026 (via RadFres) |
| RadFres as first paying L03+L04 customer | Signed + deployed Q3 2026 | Signed + deployed August 2026 |
| SMB paying clients (total) | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Average annual subscription | 15k PLN/year/client (~1.5k/mo) | 20k PLN/year/client (~1.7k/mo) |
9.6 · L04 AI Management Suite + L05 R&D Goals
| Goal | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| L04 · Codibly case study deployment (reference, no revenue) | Live Q3 2026 | Live July-August 2026 |
| L04 · First paying external deployment (likely RadFres) | Signed Q3 2026 · deployed Q4 | Signed + deployed Q3 2026 |
| L04 · Total paying deployments by Dec 2026 | 1-2 | 3-5 |
| L04 · Delivery time per deployment | ≤ 3 weeks | ≤ 2 weeks (the productized target) |
| L05 Active R&D engagements | 1 | 2 (selective) |
| Filter discipline (4-test Venture R&D Filter) | 100% pass | — |
| Reusable assets produced (MCPs, templates, agent patterns) | 2+ | 4+ |
9.7 · Technical Goals
| Goal | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| Nova AI Stack production-proven | Across 3+ products | Across 5+ products |
| Product Builder validated | On Iris AI (first proof) | <6 weeks G0→G4 consistently |
| Dexter delivery doctrine live | Wave-based default | Playwright coverage 80%+ per wave |
| Telegram bot standard | On 3+ products | All new products |
| Pay-per-value token economy | Live on all new products | Additional revenue 20-30% from overage |
| Stack reuse % | 70%+ per new product | 80-85% consistently |
| Time-to-MVP (G0→G4) | <8 weeks | <6 weeks |
9.8 · Governance + Legal Goals
| Goal | Must-hit | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 Commitment Declaration | Completed by end of June | All 4 continue (Scenario A) |
| HoT update | Aligned with blueprint | Signed by all 4 |
| First formal SPV (G6) | 1 formalized | 2-3 |
| Platform License Agreement template | Finalized | Used on 3+ SPVs |
| Polish legal templates | Reusable across products | Multi-jurisdiction ready (US, EU) |
| Annual Planning November 2026 | Completed | Investor-ready version |
9.9 · Tier Summary · What “Done” Looks Like
Must-hit (non-negotiable success criteria)
- MRR: 80-100k PLN December 2026
- L04 AI Mgmt Suite: 1-2 paying deployments + Codibly case study live
- RadFres signed + deployed as first L03+L04 paying customer
- Products: 2-3 new launched (post-April)
- Operators: 1 signed + 2-3 engaged
- SMB: Template live + 3-5 paying clients
- First formal SPV formalized
- June 2026 commitment declaration completed
- November 2026 Annual Planning executed
- Nova AI Stack production-proven
- Platform License Agreement template locked
Stretch (aspirational but achievable)
- MRR: 150k PLN December 2026 (salary-activation gate hit)
- L04 AI Mgmt Suite: 3-5 paying deployments
- Codibly case study: published externally (reference pipeline)
- Products: 4-5 new launched
- Operators: 2 signed
- SMB: 5-7 clients (hard ceiling — more = consultancy drift)
- 2 SPVs formalized
- All 4 founders continue post-June
- Google Partner status formalized
9.10 · Per-Founder Mutual Accountability
The goals above are held by all four of us together. The table below makes explicit who owns what slice of the delivery — so the shared number (MRR, SPV, L04 deployments) never becomes a “someone should have done this” conversation. Each founder signs up to their column; mutual commitment = all four hit.
| Founder | Owns by Dec 2026 (must-hit) | Capacity constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Bart · CEO & Chief Architect | L04 AI Mgmt Suite offering defined + 1-2 paying deployments closed · Codibly case study live + published · Platform License Agreement template locked · Investor / partner / financing conversations kept warm · Product Builder validated on first proof | Codibly earnout absorbs ~50% time until Q1 2027 (silent-partner arrangement — see §13) |
| Mikołaj · CLO + CFO | First formal SPV formalized (G6) · Platform License template legally locked · Silent-partner agreement maintained · Accounting + taxation process running · HoT aligned with blueprint · Compliance templates reusable | SKS partnership = day job until committed transition (June 2026 declaration) |
| Vincent · CGO + CMO | SnapSell scaled to first meaningful revenue · RadFres signed as first paying L03+L04 customer · 2-4 additional paying L04 customers through network · 3-5 SMB clients signed · 1 operator signed (G5+) · Launch marketing for each G4+ app | Lucky Duck wind-down + own marketing tools = transitional obligation; must close or scope by June 2026 |
| Maciek · CTO + CISO | Nova AI Stack production-proven across 2-3 products · Secured OpenClaw gateway template ready for L04 delivery · L04 productized 2-week delivery flow working · Engineering non-negotiables (security, observability, deployment) enforced · Petro + AI chain delivering at steady cadence | Yameo sale + earnout runs through 2027; technical delivery sensitivity there is managed |
Mutual commitment: these are not four independent lists — each column depends on the others. If Bart lands 2 L04 customers but Maciek doesn’t have the delivery template ready, both fail. If Vincent signs RadFres but Mikołaj doesn’t lock the template contract, both fail. The December 2026 MRR number is the shared outcome — the four columns are what it takes to get there.
10. What “Winning” Means
🏆 WINNING · WHAT IT MEANS
Winning is NOT:
- ❌ Most products launched
- ❌ Highest MRR
- ❌ Most operators in seat
- ❌ Biggest valuation
Winning IS (per §01 + §03):
- Founders earning from leverage, not hustle — 150k PLN MRR sustained with founders NOT operating daily ops
- Nova AI stays “layer above” — operators run companies · Nova AI builds tools + proves products + finds operators
- Stack compounds — every product easier than the last · “next product starts at month 2” empirically validated
- No founder resentment — roles clear · decisions transparent · structure preventing “who did what for which money” conversations
- Operators succeeding — their sweat-equity converting to real wealth as SPVs grow
- Nova AI Ventures = first AI-augmented company — we are the case study for our own thesis
If after 12 months we don’t have operators succeeding + stack compounding + no resentment among founders — the model isn’t working, regardless of topline metrics.
11. Where Cadence Lives
🏠 CADENCE HOME · WHERE IT LIVES
All cadence activity captured in Management Nova AI portal (management.nova-labs.ai):
- Weekly scoreboards (per founder · consolidated view)
- Monthly Strategic Review decisions log
- Per-SPV QBR records
- Annual Planning documents
- Founder commitments tracker
Access
- Founders: full read/write
- AI Management-Suite: relevant scope per agent (Brian sees finance · Klara consolidates · etc.)
- Operators: per-SPV scope (their own QBR records + strategic context)